William Starkey DD (abt. 1620 - bef. 1684)

Born about 1620 in Felmingham, Norfolk, England

Descendants

Died before 5 Apr 1684 before about age 64 in Pulham St Mary, Norfolk, England

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Biography

According to unconfirmed sources, William was born around 1620 in Felmingham, Norfolk, England, and was the son of William Starkey, a fellow of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge University. ^[1] and Margaret Sawson.

Education and Family

He matriculated at Corpus Christi College in 1634 and obtained his BA in 1637/8 and his MA in 1641. He then undertook his training for the ministry and was ordained Deacon on 25 February 1642/3 and Priest on 22 September 1644 ^[1].

He married Anne (or Anna), whose previous surname is not known, probably in the late 1640s. There are records of five children, William (born c.1649), John (born c.1651)^[2], Bridget (Starkey) Mingay (born c. 1654), Charles (christened 18 December 1660) ^[3] and Catherine (christened 10 February 1662/3) ^[4].

The Civil War

In the meanwhile the English Civil War was raging, and the Commonwealth under Oliver Cromwell lasted until KIng Charles II's restoration in 1660. There are only occasional references to the progress of his career until 1660, and it can perhaps be speculated that he was not comfortable or settled in the strict non-conformist dominated sociey of the 1650s.

Pulham St Mary

In 1661 he was appointed the Rector of Pulham St Mary the Virgin, Norfolk, England, now known as Pulham St Mary, and along with occasional other appointments, he held this post until his death in 1684. ^[5]. In 1662 he was awarded a Doctorate of Divinity (DD) and was elected to a fellowship at his old College, Corpus Christi at Cambridge, but he did not take up this appointmenrt^[1].

Two of his published works survive from this time: a sermon delivered in Bury St Edmonds on 26 February 1668 entitled The Divine Obligation of Humane Ordinances, ^[6], and a pamphlet entitled An Apology for the Laws Ecclesiatical established that command our Publick Exercise in Religion and a serious Enquiry whether Penalties be reasonably determined against Recusancy printed in 1675.^[7]. Recusancy was the crime of not attending Church of England services and had existed since Elizabeth I's reign to force Roman Catholics to renounce Rome, but was suspended from 1549 to 1560, in this case to allow Puritans to attend their own services. It had been reintroduced in 1660, and was therefore a topic of interest when this pamphlet was printed. William was a supporter of the penalties imposed for recusancy. ^[8]

He will have known William Pennoyer who In 1670, having emigrated to America, left money to pay for a schoolmaster to teach poor children in the village. The hall that was built still stands and is named the Pennoyer Hall. ^[9]

His son William succeeded his father as Rector of Pulham St Mary the Virgin. He died in 1717 and is buried there with the inscription Here lieth the Body of William Starkey, the son of Dr. Starkey, both rectors of this church, whose first wife was Mary the daughter of Gascoigne Welde of Braken-Ash, Esq. His 2d wife, the daughter of John Amyas of Hingham, Gent. who in pious memory, caused this stone to be laid. He died Oct. 13, 1717, aged 66.^[10]

He died in 1684, and his funeral took place on 5 April 1684. at St Mary The Virgin Church, Pulham, Norfolk, England.^[11].

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2} [William Starkey in: Alumni cantabrigiensis ..... Venn J.A. Vol 4, Pub 1927 Cambridge, England Page 152 https://archive.org/details/p1alumnicantabri04univuoft/page/152/mode/2up?q=starkey] Accessed 11 June 2020
2. ↑ John Starkey in: Alumni cantabrigiensis ..... Venn J.A. Vol 4, Pub 1927 Cambridge, England Page 152 https://archive.org/details/p1alumnicantabri04univuoft/page/152/mode/2up?q=starkey
3. ↑ Carolus (Charles) Starkey in "Enland, Norfolk, Parish Registers (County Record Office) 1510-1997" database with images Family Search (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HY-XC6Q-HRK?i=26&wc=4JFM-8BS%3A30072801%2C29358102%2C30129801&cc=1416598 25 June 2014) Pulham St Mary the Virgin > Baptisms, Marriages, Burials > 1539-1728 > image 27 of 88. Record Office, Norwich. Accessed 12 June 2020
4. ↑ Catherine Starkey in "England, Norfolk, Parish Registers (County Record Office), 1510-1997," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HY-XC6Q-ZRC?cc=1416598&wc=4JFM-8BS%3A30072801%2C29358102%2C30129801 : 25 June 2014), Pulham St Mary the Virgin > Baptisms, Marriages, Burials > 1539-1728 > image 28 of 88; Record Office, Norwich.> image 28 of 88. Record Office, Norwich. Accessed 12 June 2020
5. ↑ William Starkey in Clergy of the Church of England Database. Person ID 127561 https://theclergydatabase.org.uk/jsp/search/index.jsp Accessed 11 June 2020
6. ↑ William Starkey The Divine Obligation of Humane Ordinances 1668 http://name.umdl.umich.edu/A61335.0001.001 (Accessed 8 June 2020)
7. ↑ William Starkey, An Apology for the Laws Ecclesiatical established that command our Publick Exercise in Religion and a serious Enquiry whether Penalties be reasonably determined against Recusancy 1675 http://name.umdl.umich.edu/A61334.0001.001 (Accessed 8 June 2020)
8. ↑ Recusancy in Wikipedia contributors, "Recusancy," Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Recusancy&oldid=960219757 (accessed June 11, 2020).
9. ↑ Pulham St Mary in Wikipedia contributors, "Pulham St Mary," Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Pulham_St_Mary&oldid=953238336 (accessed June 11, 2020).
10. ↑ William Starkey (the younger), Francis Blomefield. "Hundred of Earsham: Pulham," in An Essay Towards A Topographical History of the County of Norfolk: Volume 5, (London: W Miller, 1806), 387-405. British History Online, accessed June 11, 2020, http://www.british-history.ac.uk/topographical-hist-norfolk/vol5/pp387-405.
11. ↑ William Starkey in England, Norfolk, Parish Registers (County Record Office), 1510-1997," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HY-XC6Q-Z2Z?cc=1416598&wc=4JFM-DQK%3A30072801%2C29358102%2C30112401 : 25 June 2014), Pulham St Mary the Virgin > Baptisms, Marriages, Burials > 1678-1757 > image 40 of 78; Record Office, Norwich.

Acknowledgements

• This profile has been improved by a member of the England Project's Orphan Trail